sports

James Brown: What It Means to Have Success

By Andrew Knox and David SissonThe 700 Club

CBN.com
 “Everything that I do revolves around Jesus Christ being Lord and Savior of my life.”

That’s JB… James Brown. As any football fan knows, he’s the long-time host of Fox NFL Sunday along with Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson.

“I don’t embark upon any broadcast without first giving it over to Him, meaning being in prayer first,” says James.

“I have a little routine, but it’s not a mindless routine. It is important. I will call to have prayer with my wife and my mother while I’m on the road. Too many times I’ve embarked upon a broadcast without having been prayed up. It’s amazing how ‘the little things so easily beset us.’

“If you aren’t fully prepared, equipped with the entire armor of God, the evil one is very sly and slick and can creep in. So, I pray to make certain that there’s a watch over my tongue, that I’m speaking things that are proper, glorifying and pleasing to Him.”

JB graduated from Harvard where he was captain of the basketball team. He’s won numerous broadcasting awards, including two sports Emmys for his work on Fox NFL Sunday.

JB is also involved in a variety of community and national causes. He’s a long-time supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is the National Spokesperson for the Neimann Pick Disease Foundation.

JB says, “Niemann-Pick Disease is a heartbreaking illness that usually starts in infants. It affects metabolism, triggers progressive deterioration of the nervous system, and is frequently misdiagnosed.”

James also participated in the East Africa Blitz as host of the Path to Victory program.

He is also doing work for the Lord closer to home.

“I’m the youth minister at the church that I attend in Washington, D.C.,” he says. “[My wife] is the co-director of the youth ministry. So, we’re working with youngsters ages 9 to 20. I have a heart for young people.”

Before moving into sports and entertainment, JB was a successful sales executive for two Fortune 500 companies.

“Many years ago, when I was working in corporate America, I was successful by the world’s standards: making good money, being young, having a nice little Corvette, and basically enjoying life. But, there was still a distinct emptiness in my life, and I remember riding home one lonely night early in the morning and asking the Lord to come back into my life. I knew that was the reason for the void and that I would endeavor with His help [and] the help of the Holy Spirit to walk upright and faithful before Him. It’s been wonderful.

“Success is a part of what we do as Christians as well … doing it His way.”

James Brown has a challenge for people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ.

“I know in my own life, there have been abundant examples that have proven that there is only one name that counts out there. One name that all the demons in hell flee from and that every knee must bow, and that’s the name of Jesus Christ.

“You can try a number of different systems and philosophies to be successful in life, and you’ll enjoy short-term success. But, there is a genuine peace in the innermost recesses of your personality that only come from knowing Jesus Christ.

“And, for those who are skeptical, I challenge them to prove the Bible wrong. Because, everyone who has embarked upon a genuine search to prove the Bible wrong has been convinced that Jesus Christ is real. I firmly believe that. Those who don’t simply deny the obvious.”